Cranberry growers win award for work with Latvia

SUSTAINABILITY.

Photo by Jennifer Bowman

Murray Johnston holds a bag of fresh cranberries and a plaque the Johnston Cranberry Marsh & Muskoka Lakes Winery recently received for their work with the Latvian people to create sustainable farming.

A lifetime of cranberry growing experience has taken local cranberry growers to Latvia and landed them a provincial award.
In April 2011, Murray Johnston and Wendy Hogarth, proprietors of Johnston’s Cranberry Marsh & Muskoka Lakes Winery in Bala, cut about three and a half of their 27 acres of cranberries, baled the vines and sent the 30,000 tonnes of plants to Latvia.
The two containers needed to be kept wet in refrigerators during their travel on a ship across the ocean.
Recently the Johnstons received the Premier’s Award for Agri-Food Innovation Excellence and $5,000 for their work.
Wendy Hogarth is glad the government has awards to recognize agricultural sustainability and feels honoured to have received it.
“Sustainable agriculture is critical and I think it comes about through innovation,” she said.
What makes her excited, though, is meeting others who are creative in the agricultural industry and sharing her passion for cranberries with the Latvians.
“We’re passionate about what we do, we get all excited about it, so it’s neat when someone else is passionate and excited about it,” she said.
In 2009, the Latvian government contacted the Johnstons about buying plants. In 2010 Murray Johnston visited Latvia to assess the type of plants they would need, which was followed by a trip from the Latvians to visit the Johnstons and chose two types of plants.
There are 150 commercially grown kinds of cranberries; Johnston’s Cranberry Marsh and Muskoka Lakes Winery grows five of them.
Exporting cranberries, which are native to North America, was a new venture for the Canadian government, so the Johnstons had to work with the government to make sure they passed all government standards and regulations, as well as their personal standards.
The Johnstons also had to create machinery to harvest the plants. They used a modified sickle mower, which is used for hay, to cut the crop, then borrowed a hay baler and modified it to bale the plants.
The Johnstons are staying in touch with the Latvian growers.
“It takes about five years from the time of planting to establish a full crop,” Hogarth said. She estimates it will take longer for the plants because of the stress of travelling overseas.
Once they begin harvesting and need equipment for packing grading, she expects they will work with them more.
In the meantime they’re keeping their ears open for other opportunities and are currently talking to people in Poland.
The Johnstons also recently received their Local Food Plus certification. Local Food Plus is a non-profit organization that certifies farmers and processors for environmental and socially sustainable practices. The Johnstons hire all local workers and are looking at ways to diversify their farm. This year that resulted in some turkeys.
“We’re a small farm. We always have to be creative and innovative to survive,” Hogarth said.